Rome artist Hitnes follows Audobon

Brown Pelican, August, Miami, FL

Hitnes, a Rome painter and public muralist, is reaching the end of an epic voyage - replicating John James Audobon's (1785-1851) travels along the U.S.'s East Coast, and painting his way on that voyage.  His trip ends in a few days (October 24).  I've always been entranced with Hitnes's gorgeous depictions of animals--real, imagined, and some of both.  We've even bought a small "acquaforte" (a type of etching) of our own to treasure.  Some of these small pieces, along with larger ones, are on his Web site.

One of the small etchings.

Working on the Brown Pelican.

Hitnes's current project is nothing short of astounding. He's been on a 20-city, self-financed, 3-month road trip, with a videographer, and sometimes also Jessica Stewart, the authority on all Roman street art. Hitnes is traveling along Audubon's exploratory voyages from the 1830s, as he describes it, "delving into the current state of the birds he [Audobon] documented."

A painting featuring the "Roseate Spoonbill,"
painted in September in St Petersburg, FL,
(I like the UHaul effect)

You can follow Hitnes on both "The Image Hunter" Web site--where there are many photographs and videos of the live birds, and his own site.

Hitnes describes himself as a painter, muralist, adventurer and fisherman.  He's a 33 year-old Roman whose work we've admired under one of the Ostiense bridges, and in the housing projects in Rome's suburban San Basilio, among many other places.

Hitnes's bloody-mouthed cat--who clearly got her mouse--
at one of the via Ostiense underpasses in Rome.

Don't miss the work of this impressive artist.

One of SIX building walls Hitnes painted in San Basilio, a Rome far-flung neighborhood that needed some decoration.  No, he doesn't always do cats.  I'm a bit cat-focused since our beloved Zelda, our 16 year-old "tortie" died recently.

Dianne